Lost

I live a routine life
Governed by rules, strict schedules
There is no adventure for me
School, home, and the mall…
That’s really about it
I always keep to the right side of roads
And it takes the same amount of steps
On the yellow sidewalks to school
Every single day, every single time
But today, I am unlucky

I am lost
In the megacity I live in
This concrete jungle called Shanghai
Traffic signs change at odd intervals
But no one cares anyway
And buildings rise and fall
Almost like soap bubbles
Everyone racing through busy lives
Cars, citizens, the occasional dog
They don’t stop to enjoy the moment
They all disappear in a dull grey blur

I am lost
It’s as if I’ve never been here before
The intersection I’m standing at
Makes no sense—nothing’s familiar
I’m clueless, with help nowhere near
What should I be feeling? Panic?
Surprise? Frustration? Perhaps anger?
I’ve lived in Shanghai my whole life
Yet everything’s so new, so strange
I am a foreigner
An outsider

Help, I scream
The structures surrounding me
Are starting to spin in wild circles
The cars are stopping, turning
Driving in full speed, all towards me
The pollution in the air
Is swirling, whirling into a tornado
Peoples’ heads are morphing
Into something lesser human
It’s like a really bad horror movie
Is it me? Or is it everything else?
How do I get out of here?
I’m seriously lost